In 1965 there was a big blackout on the east coast, it traveled up most of the coast durling the rush hours of the day, and I remember how strange and unreal it felt, my father thought it was the government shutting down, because he thought there was fear of an attack on the U.S. A. because the cold war was still going on at the time, I think a lot of people had the same frame of mind that’s how scary it was, even parts of Canada were affected like Quebec, and Ontario.

My father was telling us to fill up water bottles as much as we could, and gather other items then he had me go up to Jack’s candy store a few blocks away, to try and get as many candles as I could. So I asked Jack if he had any, he said he did but not many were left, I got what I could and raced back home as fast as I could. So we waited to find out as the hours went on, and we had no power or a battery operated radio to get the latest news so we were really in the dark. 

I remember going outside and from my home I could see the skyline of Manhattan all blacked out pitch dark, imagine the scenes, rush hour and people trying to get home, no traffic lights working, no subway cars operating, and people stuck in them, people stuck in elevators and more, refrigeration was causing food to spoil, and the heat on that summer day just added to the problem.

The blackout lasted about 12 hours or so, the next day when the power went back on, it was then we learned it was a transmission  line device, that was the cause of it all. Yes it was a scary time to have a blackout on that scale.

Artwork licensed by: (c) Can Stock Photo / Horsepowermini